The Boys of 2nd Street Park is an award-winning documentary that explores the divergent paths taken by a generation of boys who grew up in New York City during the 1960?s. Set against the unforgettable music and events fro... more &raquom that era, the film focuses on six men, now in their mid 50s ? from childhood days on the basketball court to the tragedies and triumphs that define adulthood. Through extraordinary, intimate interviews, personal photographs and archival footage, we see a portrait of a group whose lives were forever changed by sex, lost loves, drugs and war.&laquo less

Movie Reviews

A total surprise

C. Heinrich | Oyster Bay, NY USA | 03/31/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had never heard of this until I saw it on my library's shelf. I wasn't expecting much; I wasn't even sure if I'd watch it. I thought I'd pop it in for a minute to give it a try. It turned out to be one of the best trips-down-memory-lane documentaries that I have seen. It still comes across as being made for cable (you won't confuse it for a higher budget documentary), but that's just fine. And the editing leaves you curious at times as to why they did it that way, but it doesn't hurt anything. And the footage from the past is limited, but that doesn't matter much either. What does matter is the directness and reality of the stories being told. None of it is sensationalistic, and all of it is interesting. A fascinating and memorable look at a generation and a "style" of American living that has all but disappeared since the flourishing of suburban living, TV, drugs, broken families, political correctness, and bad schools (could I over-generalize today's society problems any better?). Even if you aren't from the old neighborhood (I'm far from it), you will still find something life-affirming in this. Check it out if you get the chance."

A Documentary not to be missed. If you see one documentary t

P. R. Elliott | New York City | 12/05/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I live in Brooklyn about 30 minutes away from the 2nd Street Park. The story of each of the men in this documentary, is the story of all of us. I saw this on Showtime the other night and thought I would be bored to death watching a movie about some guys from Brooklyn playing basketball as young boys. Quite the contrary. At first I thought they were just going to talk about growing up in Brooklyn and playing basketball. Boy was I wrong. What started out as a documentary about a group of young men and the lives they lived throughout their childhoods, their teens, and on to adulthood, through the 60's until 80's, ended up being one of the best films I've seen all year. No, not one of the best. The best. I got lost in each and every character. Each and every story. I laughed, I cried, I felt every human emotion you can feel. It made me realize that we all go through our own personal demons, we all love and lose ones we love, we all have regrets, we all have wonderful memories and we all have sad memories, ones we wish we could erase because the pain is so raw, but throughout all of it, what matters is who we are now and what we learn from our experiences. That success isn't measured by what kind of job you have or how much money you have, but by what kind of person you are and how you treat others, and by the obstacles you have overcome. I was so touched by every mans story that I had to watch this over and over. Not twice, not three times, but 5 times and each time, it touched my heart more and more. I don't think I've ever cried as much as the end of a documentary and I wasn't sure if the tears were from feeling the same feelings the characters were feeling or just feeling comfort that we all as humans go through good and bad, love and loss, hope and dissapointment, and uncertainty about our own lives. This is not a film to be missed. Whether you live in NYC or not, there will be a part of each of these men that you see in yourself."

A well made, touching story of real people.

L. Gorsky | Grass Valley, CA USA | 03/31/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was originally a Showtime production that thankfully has made it to mass media. Its a touching, sometimes sad, sometimes uplifting story of a group of friends, now in their mid 50s, and the different paths they took from the 1960s to the present. If you're an east coast city person and about their age you might really relate. I has some of the choppiness that you might expect from any documentary, but I heartilly recommend it to anyone who likes real stories of real people."

Growing up Bronx in Brooklyn

M. H. Siegel | Fairfield, CT | 02/07/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When I was told about this documentary that many had seen on Showtime, I wondered why were they telling me since I grew up in The Bronx and this is about about a group of friends that grew up in Brooklyn. Well I can tell you I don't care where you are from see this film, especially you "baby boomers". See it but listen to the dialog that's where the magic is. It's a look into the lives of many of us who survived The Cuban Missle Crisis, The Bay of Pigs,Vietnam, Watergate,The Grateful Dead and so much more."

Learn About the Brighton Beach Subculture from the Young Mal

L.A. Scene | Indian Trail, NC USA | 12/31/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When I was a child, some of my best memories were going to my grandparents apartment building that sat on the border of where Brighton Beach met Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York Not only was it exciting to have an ocean view from their apartment and have Coney Island from within a stone's throw, but it just was a very interesting place to be. Brighton Beach tended to have a very interesting subculture and even under the age of 10, I managed to pick things up whenever people visited my grandparents house. This also included my young Uncle's friends - who were most definitely fans of the Grateful Dead. When I learned there was a documentary film that explored this subculture, I could not rush out fast enough to find a copy of this DVD. This DVD "The Boys From 2nd Street Park" does an outstanding job at capturing the subculture of the Brighton Beach area. It documents the story of a group of friends who grew up in Brighton Beach in the late 1960s through early 1970s - and eventually traces their lives into adulthood. Even if you aren't familiar with the whole Brighton Beach scene in Brooklyn, this is a very interesting movie and should still capture your interest.

To get a better appreciation for the setting of the movie, one should know a little about the Brighton Beach area. Brighton Beach sits just east of Coney Island. Like Coney Island, it originally was developed as a resort area. In the 1920s, with the subway already accessing the area, a major residential development effort got underway in Brighton Beach. Many apartment buildings were constructed and commercial business also came to the area. This resulted into two things - 1) It would lead to what would become one of the more densely populated areas in all of New York City; 2) It would also lead to what would become an ethnic melting pot - although the Jewish, Russian, and Ukrainian populations would be the most prevalent. Unfortunately this would also lead to an urban decline that would happen in the area in the late 1970s.

The densely populated area - being located in close proximity of the beach made it easy for groups of kids to get together. In "The Boys from Second Street Park", we meet a group of boys who got together in a park located on second street in Brighton Beach. We learn that these boys used to play basketball together in the park. As a result they struck up a friendship. In particular there are several themes that are explored and we see how this affects the boys as they grow into adulthood.

-Getting Together as Boys in the Park: This really sets the unifying theme for the movie. We learn how the boys got into basketball and we see how they struck up their initial friendships. We also get to understand the families they are from. In particular, there is a moving account of a father who spent time in a German prison camp during the holocaust.

-Playing Basketball for Abraham Lincoln High School: Lincoln High School is a high school power when it comes to sports. Much of this is because it resides in the Brighton Beach Area and can draw from the densely populated area. We learn how the boys who would play in the park become High School basketball players. There is a great account when they have to travel into a black neighborhood and play High School Basketball power Boys High School.

-Graduating High School and going off to different colleges and dealing with the military draft. The part of the military draft is covered extremely well. We get an account of one of the boys who gets an exemption of military service due to psychological reasons. We get another account of one of the boys who actually goes get drafted.

-The Drug Scene: This is probably one of the best parts of the movie. From someone who has spent time in this neighborhood during the early 1970s, I can testify that much of what they talked about was very prevalent. The movie does an outstanding job at accounting for this and telling how this affected the boys. We learn the story of how one of the boys loses his life due to drugs. We learn another account on how drugs destroys the life of another boy.

-Bridging into Adulthood: We see how one of the boys fell in love and got married early. He accounts for a cross-country trip for his honeymoon and he takes his friends. We also learn how one of the boys learned his father died.

-Dealing with Problems Later in Life: We learn how one of the boys learns his daughter had Down's Syndrome and another boy has a son who has Leukemia. This along with the drug story is another powerful part of the movie.

-Reunion: At the end, we see the friends who used to play in the park reunite some thirty years late.

While these are some of the main themes - many other stories are explored (too numerous to list). I read in some of the other reviews that the storyline is often choppy - but with this type of documentary dealing with multiple people's stories, I'm not sure what else could have been done. There are two topics I would have liked to have seen explored more in this film: 1) Some more information on the Russian Mafia - which reportedly had an influence in Brighton Beach; 2) The decline of the neighborhood in Brighton Beach. These elements would have completed the giving a good feel for Brighton Beach.

There is outstanding music to compliment the stories and the timeframes covered in this documentary. I realize I speak from a personal standpoint, but I really feel this is an excellent documentary. Whether you know Brighton Beach or not, it's definitely worth checking out."